Access to Care Close to Home

Access to care close to home can reduce inconvenience and the need to travel for medical appointments.

Diabetes and chronic disease educators across the province provide self-management education, care and support for people living with diabetes. These nurse and dietitian teams work in the community to assist people with diabetes and other chronic diseases improve or maintain the best quality of life possible. Go to www.gov.mb.ca/health/rha/contact.html to find a diabetes or chronic disease educator near you.

Since children with diabetes have special needs, the provincial Diabetes Education Resource for Children and Adolescents program provides children with support tailored to them in mainly outpatient settings. Contact them by phone at 204-787-3011.

Dial-A-Dietitian service at the Provincial Health Contact Centre provides Manitobans with access to registered dietitians by telephone. The dietitians answer questions and provide advice on food and nutrition to help individuals and families eat well, live well, and stay healthy. 204-788-8248 or 1-877-830-2892

TeleCARE Manitoba provides telephone support to individuals with type 2 diabetes. During these phone calls, program staff assesses the patient’s health, monitors any symptoms or problems, and provides education and tools for the patient to better manage their own health. This program allows easier access to diabetes education in northern, rural and remote parts of Manitoba. Contact them at: 204-788-8688 or 1-866-204-3737.

Get Better Together! Manitoba is a self-management program designed to help Manitobans with chronic disease take control of their health. The Wellness Institute provides training of peer leaders for this program that takes place in all Manitoba regional health authorities. Go to http://www.wellnessinstitute.ca/gbt to find out when the next program runs in your area.

Manitoba Health is currently developing My Health Teams as part of providing services close to home. Primary Care Network services will build on the work of Physician Integrated Networks, and will emphasize prevention and coordinated chronic disease management, including the identification and reduction of chronic disease risk factors. Multi-disciplinary Primary Care Network teams will develop strategies to ensure patients are informed of their health status and engaged in their care planning and management. Network teams will treat the whole patient, not just illness, and focus on and wellness, not just treatment.